A woman said she was driving west on Route 11 near the Flight Deck gas station when she saw the cat thrown from the car.

"She witnessed someone throw a cat from the driver's side of their car," said Sgt. Reginald Beatty.

The woman, who doesn't want to be identified because she is afraid of retaliation, said she couldn't believe what she had just seen coming from the blue, four-door sedan three cars ahead of her.

"It shocked me, and my first instinct was to want to go after that person, but what kind of person does that sort of thing?" she said. "Obviously, they are not stable, so I am not going to put myself at risk, so I turned around and went back to get the animal."

In the eastbound lanes, she found the cat still breathing.

"I scooped him up, wrapped him up and carefully put him on my lap," she said.

She quickly headed to a nearby animal clinic.

"As soon as I got it into the car and I was driving, I could feel the weight of it relax on my lap, and I knew it had passed away," she said.

The woman took the cat home and buried it in her back yard. Later, she posted its picture on Facebook.

Police said they hope someone will come forward with information, adding that no tip is too small.

"We haven't had any tips yet," Beatty said. "We are also going to repost it on the department's Facebook page, as well, and we are hopeful that someone will come forward that may have seen something that will help us out."

Police said whoever is responsible will likely face charges.

"One would be an animal cruelty charge, and the other would be reckless conduct," Beatty said. "They both would be Class A misdemeanors, which are punishable by up to a year in jail and a $2,000 fine."